Just hearing his sister’s name seemed to brighten Daniel’s mood—he even let out a soft chuckle.
“Yes. Well, ‘Rose’ is just a nickname. Her full name is Rosette.”
“Rosette…? Did Master name her?”
“No, that was her given name from the beginning. I don’t know who named her, but maybe it’s because her hair is pink like a rose.”
“Pink hair? And are her eyes blue by any chance?”
“How did you know? Yes, they’re blue.”
“……”
“Is something wrong, Your Highness?”
“No, nothing.”
Joshua kept his face neutral and asked one last question.
“Was it really Celine who saved Master this time… or was it the youngest lady of the house?”
Daniel paused—his awkward smile and evasive glance said everything.
Joshua could tell, without a doubt, that his guess had been correct.
Watching Daniel depart from the Sapphire Palace, Joshua was deep in thought. A flood of new information left his mind tangled.
“The past changed again. Why…?”
In the past he remembered, it wasn’t Duke Adrian who suffered a mysterious carriage accident—it had been Daniel Adrian.
That accident left Daniel, once a promising swordsman, with a permanent limp. Joshua was sure he wasn’t misremembering.
That was why he had risked suspicion to warn Daniel.
But now, the one caught in the accident wasn’t Daniel—it was the Duke, someone Joshua hadn’t even considered at risk.
And then—
“Even the timing’s off.”
In the past, Daniel’s accident occurred after the social season had begun. This time, it happened before spring had even arrived.
Could someone still be targeting Daniel? That seemed unlikely. What were the odds of two identical carriage accidents occurring so close together?
Joshua concluded the target must’ve shifted, for some unknown reason, to Duke Adrian.
There was another crucial difference.
“They said they caught the culprit this time. Baron Charnet, was it?”
In the past, the Duke had scoured the empire in anger, but no one was ever caught. Now, the culprit had been found with surprising ease.
Could that really be possible? Joshua let out a quiet sigh.
But this wasn’t the first time something strange had happened with House Adrian.
“Rosette Adrian.”
A girl who was suddenly adopted into the Adrian family.
Joshua sat at his desk, repeating that name in his mind.
He already knew a girl named Rosette with pink hair and blue eyes. But the one he remembered was Rosette Dallas.
In the past he remembered, she had been adopted into the Dallas family.
“Come to think of it, the Marquis of Dallas adopted that girl around this time, too.”
Rosette wasn’t a common name. And how many people could share such a rare name and identical features?
Even their magical aptitude was the same.
No matter how he looked at it, everything pointed to the same conclusion: the Rosette adopted by the Adrians was the same girl he had known as Rosette Dallas.
“If the second daughter of House Adrian really is the Rosette Dallas I knew…”
Why on earth was she in House Adrian, not with the Marquis of Dallas?
It didn’t make sense.
Why would the girl who had led to the downfall of House Adrian now be in their care?
What stood out most was that it was Duke Adrian himself who had adopted her. If she had approached them first, he might’ve suspected a hidden motive. But the circumstances didn’t suggest that at all.
Joshua clenched his fists so tightly that his nails dug into his palms as he relived the past, still vividly burned in his mind.
“Is this a divine plan from the goddess Ashla, or a curse from an evil god?”
Either way, he knew one thing: if Rosette Dallas really was the girl he remembered, she needed to be exiled from House Adrian.
That night had started just like any other peaceful evening. Joshua was reviewing documents and growing drowsy when his aide rushed in urgently.
“Your Highness, something terrible has happened!”
“What is it?”
“Duke Adrian’s residence has been attacked!”
At first, Joshua barely reacted.
“Is this really something to report at this hour?”
This wasn’t the first time assassins had infiltrated the Adrian residence. Most of the time, they were caught by the guards before they could get far.
Even if someone did manage to infiltrate the inner quarters, it wouldn’t pose a serious threat—after all, the four members of House Adrian were among the best swordsmen in the empire.
Joshua assumed this was just another of those failed attempts and turned back toward his bed.
“Duke Adrian and Prince Daniel have been killed.”
“…What?”
“The Duke and the first prince… are dead…!”
Joshua’s aide, feeling the overwhelming pressure from Joshua’s lethal aura, struggled to speak.
“What did you just say?” Joshua asked, his voice cold and sharp.
“They are really… dead…”
“You better speak properly, or even you won’t survive this.”
“It’s true…”
This couldn’t be happening. Master and Daniel had been killed? Impossible. But still, he needed confirmation.
Joshua rushed out of his room, barely throwing on his shirt and pants before heading straight to the Adrian residence.
He arrived faster than he had ever imagined possible, finding the house in chaos. Imperial knights had already surrounded the mansion.
“Who’s there… Prince Joshua?”
“Move.”
“The investigation is still ongoing, Your Highness. You can’t go inside…”
“Did you not hear me? Move.”
Joshua flicked the point of one of the knights’ spears with his fingers. It was only a light push, but the knight was knocked back, crashing to the ground.
Without sparing him a second glance, Joshua stormed into the mansion.
Inside was a nightmare. Guards’ bodies were scattered across the floor, pools of blood splattered across the walls.
Joshua ignored the gruesome sight and rushed straight to Duke Adrian’s office.
“Master!”
But what greeted him wasn’t the calm, authoritative figure of Duke Adrian. It was the agonized, almost desperate voice of Lucas, Duke Adrian’s son.
“Father! Open your eyes, Father!”
Lucas, kneeling on the floor, was holding the body of Duke Adrian in his arms. The Duke had his eyes closed, as if peacefully asleep, but the left side of his chest was stained with blood.
It was an unbelievable sight, even after seeing it with his own eyes. Joshua stood frozen at the door, and before he knew it, he was taking steps backward.
Feeling the movement, Lucas turned to look at him. His cheeks were already drenched with tears.
“Your Highness.”
“…….”
“Father… hic…”
Lucas cried out loud like a child. Joshua, belatedly, approached him. He knelt down beside him and placed his hand on the Duke’s chest, where the wound had cleanly pierced through.
He felt no heartbeat. Desperately, Joshua used healing magic, and the edges of the wound began to heal, slowly fading away without a trace.
But the heart that had already stopped showed no sign of restarting. Joshua began performing CPR, pressing down on the Duke’s chest with both hands, repeatedly.
But there was no response. The Duke, who had always smiled warmly at him, no longer smiled.
“Please stop, Your Highness. Father… is already…”
Lucas, unable to watch any longer, stopped him. Joshua, staring at his bloodstained hands, slowly looked down, tears finally falling.
“Master, why…?”
Joshua had first met Duke Adrian when he was three years old.
At that time, the late Duchess of Adrian was a friend of Joshua’s mother, Ophelia, who had come to the Empire and made her first friend there.
Duke Adrian had been reluctant to teach Joshua, but at the request of his wife, he began his lessons.
Sometimes strict, sometimes kind, the Duke had been a teacher to Joshua. He had followed Duke Adrian more than the Emperor, who was cold and showed no affection. At times, he even felt as if the Duke were a father to him.
Duke Adrian was the strongest person Joshua knew, both inside and out. Perhaps that was why he never imagined that the Duke would die so suddenly.
After crying for a long time, Joshua finally collected his emotions and stood up. His next destination was Daniel’s room.
Isabel was sitting next to the fallen Daniel. Unlike Lucas, she wasn’t crying. She was simply staring down at Daniel in a daze. Even as Joshua approached, she did not turn to look.
Joshua silently looked down at Daniel. His eyes were still open, but he was already dead.
Maybe it was because he had just seen Duke Adrian, but no tears came. Only a bitter laugh escaped.
Joshua carefully closed Daniel’s eyes and then asked in a low voice.
“Who did this?”
Isabel, still with a dazed expression, answered.
“We don’t know yet.”
“The assassin? Did he escape?”
“No. He’s been caught.”
“He was caught? How?”
The person who killed both Duke Adrian and Daniel was now in custody? It was hard to believe.
“When I and the knights arrived here, the assassin was just standing in front of my brother’s body.”
“Why was he doing that?”
“I don’t know.”
Isabel covered her face with both hands. She took a deep breath and continued.
“She’s a young girl.”
“What?”
“She’s a child who doesn’t even understand why she got caught up in all this. I’m not even sure if it was really her who did it. Please, uncover the truth.”
“You’re speaking as if you’re genuinely concerned about her.”
Isabel got up from her seat and muttered bitterly.
“If it were my father, he would have definitely thought that way.”
That was probably true. Duke Adrian had been soft on children.
Then Joshua suddenly realized the difference between Duke Adrian and Daniel.
‘The Duke had no signs of a struggle. Daniel has other injuries.’
The Duke only had one hole in his left chest. No matter how skilled the assassin was, that didn’t make sense.
That meant Duke Adrian hadn’t resisted at all.
‘He wouldn’t have let his guard down just because his opponent was a child, so he must have been unable to attack.’
That made it even more infuriating. It meant they had taken advantage of the Duke’s nature.
Joshua clenched his fists tightly.
“I swear on the name of Joshua Ernhardt that I will uncover the mastermind behind this.”
“Thank you, Your Highness.”
Joshua took one last look at Daniel before leaving the mansion.
He felt like his insides were burning, but there was no time to mourn.
Thirteen years ago, when his mother Ophelia Ernhardt died, he was only twelve years old. He wanted to uncover the truth behind her death, but he was too young to act on his own.
But now, things were different. He was an adult now and had the power to wield influence.
He would find the truth, no matter what.
This time, he wouldn’t leave room for regrets.
Thank you 💖💖💖